PITTSBURGH (AP) — Albert Pujols hit his 696th home run, tying Alex Rodriguez for fourth place on the career list, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied past the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-5. Pujols trails only Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), and Babe Ruth (714) on the all-time homer chart. The 42-year-old Pujols has 22 games left in his 22nd and final season in the big leagues. With St. Louis down 3-1 in the sixth, Pujols connected against JT Brubaker. He sent a two-run shot 418 feet into the left-field bleachers at PNC Park. Pujols also doubled and singled for the NL Central leaders. His RBI single in the eighth made it 4-all. Nolan Arenado broke the tie with a three-run double with two outs in the ninth off Wil Crowe.
CHICAGO (AP) — Joey Bart and David Villar each homered, doubled, and drove in two runs, helping the San Francisco Giants top the Chicago Cubs 5-2 to end a five-game losing streak. Logan Webb allowed two runs on six hits over seven innings, while striking out six and walking none. The 25-year-old right-hander retired 17 of his last 19 hitters and extended his career high with his 13th win. Bart added a single in the ninth to finish with three hits.
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HOUSTON (AP) — Mike Trout homered in his sixth straight game to set an Angels franchise record, Shohei Ohtani threw five solid innings before exiting because of a blister and Los Angeles beat the Houston Astros 6-1. Trout hit his 34th homer, a three-run drive in the second inning. The three-time AL MVP broke the club mark of five games in a row with a homer set by Bobby Bonds in 1977. Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long share the major league record of eight games in a row with a home run. Ohtani improved to 12-8. He yielded one run and struck out seven until leaving with a blister on his right index finger while warming up in the sixth.
